http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
AS ANYONE who has been involved in a court case knows, the lawyers' interests do not always
coincide with the client's. Certainly Al Gore's interests, not to mention the country's, are
not necessarily the same as David Boies' and the battalion of lawyers Gore has hired to
represent him. Boies and company have nothing to lose by continuing their legal battles to the
bitter end, filing one appeal after the other, no matter how many times they are shot down. But
Al Gore has long since ceased to be served well by Boies and his other attorneys. To date, Gore
has scored only one substantive legal victory, before the Florida Supreme Court -- and even
that victory has now been vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. It's time Gore fired his lawyers
and got on with his life.

No one will ever convince Al Gore that he lost the election. If he had his way, no doubt he
would personally count every one of the 6 million votes cast in Florida to satisfy himself that
he won after all. He has already hinted that he or his allies will file suit under Florida's
freedom of information laws to do so.

Let him believe what he wishes. If he insists on deluding himself that he won, it will only
make him an increasingly bitter and unhappy man. But the country should be allowed to move
forward without the Gore legal team trying to block the way.

It's time the leaders of the Democrat Party call on Gore to step aside. Senate Minority Leader
Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt have circled the wagons around Gore for
weeks, giving him needed political cover while he pursued his legal challenges. They have
proven themselves loyal to a fault. But now there is no justification to continue on this path.
And if Democrat Party elders do not intervene to stop this madness, they could find their own
fortunes irreparably damaged.

Americans hate sore losers. We expect competitors to shake hands after the competition, and
for the loser to congratulate the winner, no matter how hard-fought or close the fight. If the
loser in a political competition hopes to compete again, he must lose graciously. Americans
believe in re-matches, but they do not believe that participants in a contest have the right to
refuse to accept the final results.

Al Gore might learn a lesson or two from Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft, who lost his re-election
bid to a dead man, but chose not to contest the election. Ashcroft certainly enhanced his
reputation, but he probably also improved his chances at winning some future election. Al Gore
might have been able to do the same if he had bowed out earlier.

But of course, he didn't. And, what's worse, Gore has now laid the groundwork to claim victory
was stolen from him -- which is exactly what he did in that clever bit of paralipsis on CBS'
"60 Minutes" Sunday. If George W. Bush is inaugurated on Jan. 20, Gore said, he'll be my
president, too, and I'll never accuse him of stealing the election.

Cute.

It's probably too late for Al Gore to salvage his reputation. He will forever be remembered as
the only candidate in history who tried -- and failed -- to overturn a presidential election in
the courts. But it is not in other Democrat-elected officials' interests to lash themselves to
the mast of Gore's sinking ship.

More importantly, our political system rests on the smooth transition of power after an
election. The losing party does not roll out the tanks nor man the barricades -- and it should
not continue to throw up legal blockades either, even if there is one more appeal brief that
might conceivably be written.

The Gore-Lieberman campaign has had its day in court. Indeed, it has had a month's worth of
court days. But the gig is up. Let the lawyers pack their briefcases and Al Gore pack his
bags.